usb memory stick booting problem

Question

i can install and run pfsense fine, its getting it to boot that is the problem.

the computer is a dell gx260 w/256mb of ram and 2ghz pentium 4.

bios has been updates to version A09

i have pfsense installed on to a 1gb usb flash drive, the only way i can get it to boot is by manually entering the boot menu and booting from the "utility partition".

same if its a reboot.

the bios is set to boot from the usb device first; even from the boot menu if i select the usb device, it doesn't find a bootable device.

this gets old when everytime i need to reboot the system, i need to connect a monitor and keybaord

zalnn · Answer

IDE or USB based? Can you elaborate on the harddrive?  Where are they available, how much etc?

tr4 · Answer

Why not get a small <2gb hard drive and use that. it should be set  to sleep once it is loaded and running for awhile.

tr4 · Answer

I was referring to an internal ide drive. Old drives are paperweights. Recycling centers. craigslist, ebay are all ways of getting one. You could probablt strip one out of a 486 or early pentium pc

Dev Mgr · Answer

Have you considered something like this?

You can take a CF card and plug it in, and then connect it to an ATA cable/controller and it'll work like a regular ATA drive, but use less power and make less noise too.

zalnn · Answer

That is what I am trying to avoid. I want to go with FLASH to reduce noise and the possibility of the disk crashing/getting corrupted.

tr4 · Answer

Using energy savings, the disk should power down when not in use. So less noise. I do not  see how a thumb drive would be able to eliminate crashes. Does not matter what drive it is on if it is software related. And what to say a flash drive would outlive a hard drive. I don't know the r/w cycle of the app but flash have lower limits than standard drives. I'd image the drive to cd or flash for a quick restore. As far as noise, you may have a special situation where a standard router would be insufficient , maybe even the pro or programmable models, but I would think a manufactered router could be set up to firewall a home sufficiently.  Or since you don't need the box in front of you, it could be moved to a location where the noise would not be a problem. I would think the pc's fans would be noisier

zalnn · Answer

Both those ideas (CF -> IDE adapter and a HDD w/power management) are possible and viable solutions.

But NOW the whole excercise has become educational and I am trying to figure out what is causeing the BIOS to not detect the bootable USB drive.

I think its has got to do with with how the USB drive's partition and bootblocks are setup, that I why I came here to see if anyone could shed some light on how the Dell GX260 BIOS deals with booting.

If anyone know or has any ideas PLEASE post away, I just don't want to give up and find a workaround.

Message Edited by zalnn on 04-11-2008 12:14 AM

Locked Topics – Desktops General

usb memory stick booting problem

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